Page 29 of Two for Charging

Tom wasn’t a captain who would throw a catered brunch, much less a costume party rager. As for the alternates, well, the Magpies traded Jax to the team last year, and since he’d barely known any of them, he hadn’t thrown any parties. Hayes had sent an invite to a Halloween club night about an hour before it started, and Phil had already hosted Thanksgiving and Christmas for anyone who couldn’t get home.

Now that Phil wasn’t an A anymore, would he still invite everyone over?

Who would do it if he didn’t? Jax and Hayes were the only active As. If Hayes sent out an invite, half the team wouldn’t go. Maybe Jax would step up this year. But Jax stepping up meant Tom would be involved, which probably meant no parties. Or maybe a really awkward party. Chris couldn’t decide which would be worse for morale.

“What?” Howie looked crestfallen. “I thought… Last year, we were on the road, but this time around, we’ll be home, and we have a day off on the first. We have to do something.”

Luca looked set to tell him they didn’t have to do anything at all, thank you very much. Chris loved the guy, but it was a good thing he didn’t have kids. He would crush their hopes and dreams.

“Maybe we can host something?”

Luca’s face morphed from arrogant to fearful. “In our apartment? But—”

“No way. Your place is way too small. No offense, but—”

“Hey,” Chris protested. He loved their cozy-without-being-cramped, light-without-being-too-modern apartment. Sure, it would be cool to have a little extra space for a guest room or an office, but otherwise, it was perfect.

“No, no, he is correct,” Luca interjected.

“You just don’t want to have people over.”

“Also correct.”

“Well, we can’t go to Howie’s.” Chris glared at Howie. He had yet to move out of his one-bedroom shithole.

Howie set down his weights and stretched. “I have an apartment viewing lined up, dude. It’s hard with the schedule.”

“One apartment viewing?” Chris shook his head in consternation. “This is why you do house-hunting over the summer.”

“I didn’t want to leave home.”

Chris thought guiltily about the open tab on his phone of apartment listings in Montreal. He loved his family, and he loved going home over the summer, but sometimes it was a little much living with them after being on his own all year.

Howie didn’t seem to have the same problem, but his family owned a farm in Victoria with plenty of space. Lucky bastard.

“Anyway, why can’t we— Jax! Tom!” Howie called as soon as he spotted them entering the weight room.

Jax held the door for Tom.

The sweetness of the gesture made envy pang in Chris’s gut.

He picked up his weights again and returned to his deadlifts, looking at the wall to avoid seeing anything else too cute for comfort. He’d already finished his reps, but a few more wouldn’t hurt.

“What’s up, rookie?”

“Jax,” Tom said reproachfully. “He’s not a rookie anymore.”

Howie glowed. The hero worship thing he had going for Tom was a little embarrassing.

Oh God, Chris hoped it was hero worship and not a crush. A messy love triangle was the last thing their team needed. Sweat dripped down his forehead into his eyes both from the lifting and the awful thought.

“We were talking about how it’s nearly Halloween,” Howie said, “and that we should have a big team party.”

Jax perked up. “I like what I’m hearing. Tell me more.”

“Didn’t you move into a new place? Can we do it there?”

Panic surged through Chris. The new place Jax and Tom had moved into together was the worst possible option for a team party. They both lived there. Everyone would figure it out. No way could they remain hidden, with everyone clomping through their space. And what about the bathroom they shared, with two toothbrushes set next to each other, cuddled up together all day, waiting for Tom and Jax to use them before they curled up in bed side by side and cuddled themselves, like a real couple, like—